West Chester council shares concern of redistricting courts plan

WEST CHESTER — Council wrote a letter opposing a judge’s plan to redistrict the county’s district courts, saying it would create a hardship for the borough’s enforcement officers and employees.

President Judge James P. MacElree II proposed to the state Supreme Court in July a district court redistricting that would eliminate the Downingtown-area court.

The realignment would send cases now heard in Downingtown to West Chester and Thorndale.

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West Chester Borough Manager Ernie McNeely presented the redistricting proposal to council, which unanimously voted against the proposal at its Aug. 21 meeting, with Councilman Stephen Shinn absent.

McNeely and Holly Brown, council president, signed a letter dated Aug. 23 and sent it to the judge to express council’s concerns.

MacElree said he sought public comment about the plan because “all concerns of everybody (are) important to us.”

According to Downingtown Mayor Josh Maxwell, borough council there had not submitted a letter to MacElree. The borough manager is on vacation this week and was unavailable for comment.

Public comments to the judge were due by Wednesday.

West Chester Council said the proposed redistricting would cause enforcement officers to have scheduled hearings in West Goshen, a “third court” outside of borough limits. Council said this will take enforcement officers away from their duties for longer periods of time and result in a loss of “tens of thousands of dollars.”

MacElree said his biggest concern is the same as that of council members, as the plan adds a third court for court hearings. Enforcement officers are currently split into two courts in West Chester.

MacElree said he is working hard to change that portion of the plan.

The Daily Local News reported that the redistricting would increase caseloads in Caln court by more than 14,000; by about 12,000 in Magisterial District Judge Gwenn Knapp’s court in West Chester; and by 10,000 in West Goshen court.

The district court on the west side of West Chester would see a slight increase in caseloads.

MacElree said he is trying to develop a plan to balance the casework as much as possible for judges.

The petition states a policy change in the borough parking enforcement and citations decreased the caseloads at the two West Chester district courts. The petition states that as a potential reason for the elimination of the Downingtown court being possible.

MacElree said he is working with administration to change the plan that received a “number of different comments.”

Council cited additional reasons in its letter, including the quality-of-life statute enforcement efforts by the borough police and West Chester University police will add to the workload at the two district courts that “need to be convenient and responsive to the local police efforts.”

This week MacElree said he will review the plan to revise the proposal, in hopes of addressing most of the concerns.

Next, he said he will make the revised proposal public before he resubmits the plan to the Supreme Court. He said he has no set timeline for this.

MacElree said the objective of the plan is to save taxpayers money. He estimated that $4.5 million would be saved over 10 years in costs associated with office rentals and salaries.

MacElree said he wants to avoid inconveniencing as many people as possible.

The plan is developing while the Downingtown court’s judicial position is vacant. Former Magisterial District Judge Rita Arnold resigned in April. She is awaiting sentencing in a criminal matter that occurred while she was in office.